1. Field
The present invention relates generally to a method and video device for accessing information and, more particularly, to a method and video device for acquiring complete contents, part of which is included in a program received via broadcasting or a title played from a storage medium.
2. Background
According to rapid development of communication technology, a lot of individual houses have been connected to a global data network (i.e., the ‘Internet’) through high-speed cables, so that it is possible for most people to access easily necessary information from Internet at home. Thus, many enterprises are using the Internet as a marketing tool to deliver goods advertising information.
In addition, a television set or an optical disk player tends to adopt a data communication function and a set top box (STB), which is used to receive digital broadcast signal and provide a television set with data communication function. This means that a television set is able to bi-direction communicate. Therefore, enterprises began to use television sets as marketing tools. That is, they insert goods information into broadcast programs to be received at television sets. The goods information may be selected and used by a viewer to obtain supplementary information for buying goods through a television set.
In these marketing methods, the following method may occur. A broadcast program may include information for distinguishing goods that are displayed during program presentation, such as goods name and goods code are broadcasted. A viewer enters a specific button while watching a television set, then the television set maintains a still picture that is presented at the time when the specific button is entered, and the television set lists (or displays) goods names contained in goods distinguishing information associated with goods presented in the still picture.
When a viewer selects one among the listed goods names, the television set sends a goods code linked with the selected goods name to a predetermined web site, mainly a web site of a broadcasting station through a connected communication cable. After receiving the goods code of the selected goods, the predetermined web site sends the television set an accessing address of a site that will provide detailed shopping information including appearance and price of the selected goods.
If the television set receives the accessing address, it resends this address to the Internet through the communication cable automatically or when a viewer requests to do. Through these operations, the television set receives detailed shopping information from the addressed site and displays it to help a viewer determine whether to buy the selected goods or not through an on-line commercial transaction.
However, this method may take considerable time to acquire detailed shopping information for goods, and a viewer may not be able to watch a broadcast program during that time. Thus, a viewer may not obtain detailed shopping information even though a desirable goods is displayed on a screen, if he or she is unwilling to suspend watching a program even a short while.
A method of providing shopping information via an image screen may provide only information about tangible products displayed on a screen, and may have a limitation to the provision of accessing information or purchase information for intangible contents, such as music played in a broadcast program.
Furthermore, the method may be realized only when purchase information has been included in a broadcast program so that the users' desire to access complete intangible contents, part of which is included in a corresponding program or a title, is not satisfied in a case where a broadcast program configured to contain no additional information, such as access information or purchase information, or a title contained in a medium, such as a previously distributed CD or DVD, is played in a video device.
A problem may arise in that a user cannot listen to complete music when a DVD title, in which part of the music has been recorded as background music, is played, and the user must perform a complex process, such as Internet searching, in order to listen to the complete music.